A kingdom not of this world

http://bible.com/116/JHN18.36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” Bible.com/app

Finally, justice!

Isaiah 11:4 NLT

He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
____________________________________

The promise God made to King David had always seemed too good to be true. Dynasties don't last forever. David's experience of the promise was seriously threatened before he ever reached the throne. And when the land of Abraham's promise was finally united under David's good rule, it is divided by fights among his sons and generals. Does this throw God's promise into doubt? Solomon appears to be a just king, but he is deeply flawed and wavers.

God's people are waiting for a prophet who will declare his people free of exile and oppression. They are longing for a promised king who will rule with justice and peace. God's people are looking for a Messiah like Isaiah has foretold. Who would be this 'Sent One' whose very words would bring healing and peace?

Surely someone could see that this promise would have to be fulfilled by no one short of God himself. Thus it is Jesus Christ, the God/Man-Messiah, who alone can fulfil this grandiose and outrageous promise from God.

We clearly see in Jesus' words he is the one that Isaiah is speaking of here (read further below).

Do you long for justice? Did your heart crave the peace promised by Isaiah? Does your mind desperately need this safety and salvation?

All this and more is found in Jesus.

Rest assured, Jesus rules a kingdom you can be part of that is all this and more.

____________________________________

Isaiah 11:1-10 NLT

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

https://soundcloud.com/wkbode/consider-the-following-03

Lie, cheat, do what ever it takes?

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

A veritable treasure trove of wisdom

Luke 16:9-15 NLT

Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.  And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?  And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

**************************************************************************

The stealthy wealth of wise statements above is Jesus summary of the story I pasted below.

(if you are unfamiliar with the story you may need to read it first below before reading my thoughts, otherwise you may not understand.)

Many people struggle with the story of the "shrewd servant." But I think it is because the parable told by Jesus was designed to reveal the misplaced love of money. People might say that it is the commendation of dishonesty that doesn't sit well with them. But rather than the dishonesty it is usually the collusion to deprive the owner of more wealth. I'm not condoning theft, white collar crime, lying or conspiracy to defraud. But actually neither is Jesus. So what is Jesus commending so voraciously? Firstly, I think the "shrewd servant"  believed in a coming judgment. He could read the hand writing on the wall and did whatever it took to avoid the penalty of judgement. Even before we get to the money issues we need to see the essence of the Gospel message begins with the problem of sin and the resulting coming wrath of God. The guy in the scenario took fully on board the impending dilemma and considered his options. Have you? Secondly, our intrepid manager understood he'd never have the resources to face the future alone. He wasn't a rugged indiviualist who by pulling himself up by his own boot straps (that bootstrap act never works by the way, defies the laws of physics and such.) was going to make it on his own. No man's an island and all that jazz. Nope, this sentenced fellow sought strength in numbers. He realised his future would be found in the kindness of others. All our resources, our money, our influence, or networks need to be leveraged towards one goal. Money and friends are worthless unless used for a greater goal. But the goal Jesus had in mind was far greater than the future comfort of this simple yet shrewd steward. Jesus says that if selfish people have the foresight to look ahead and pad things out for their retirement on earth because they can see the inevitable coming, how much more should we who believe in the Kingdom of God be using everything at our disposal to secure the future of as many people as can be? And you bet that means your money. Of course Jesus means your honestly earned or inherited money but your money should never be about your temporal comfort or personal accumulation. Your money (ha, nothing is yours really)  is and was always meant for you to further God's kingdom. All that you have been entrusted with is for heavenly purpose, first, last, full stop! Period!

It's not yours, it never was. So what are you doing with your master's wealth? Whose future are you securing? What friends are you making? How are you demonstrating you serve Jesus and not your own self interests?

Can you see that Jesus isn't condoning this guy at all? He's saying by comparison, do you believe in your future (actually God's) as much? What are you doing about it? How are you as a steward? Maybe like Janet Jackson, Jesus is saying to you today," what have you done for me lately? "

The little things are the common grace things afforded everyone by a gracious God. So what for his Kingdom are you doing with the air you breath and the food you eat? Want more? Will you use it to see more people into his kingdom? That's the question God is asking you? Even Job, who was excessively rich, used his wealth for the good of the poor and the weak. Job secured justice in the courts for those whose poverty would only work against them.

The question is do you love God? Do you believe that his kingdom is the most important thing is to seek. Show it by your use of your money, power, and influence, as little as it may be.

Like Rahab? Do what it takes! Save yourself, save your family and friends!

(some thoughts influenced by Tim Chester's sermon http://www.thecrowdedhouse.org/luke#)

****************************************************************************

Luke 16:1-8 NLT

Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.  So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’ “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.  Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’  The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ’ “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels. ’ “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

Our gang: Lessons from lists.

LUKE 8:1-3 ESV

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

**************************************

Jesus was a radical! He was completely sinless and in all ways then pleased God the Father. But social conventions just were not important in his values compared to pleasing God the Father and loving people.

Jesus first priority was to declare God's word, to spread the good news, to proclaim the gospel, to preach the Kingdom of God. See by simply informing people of God's rule and by raising awareness of God's intentions Jesus was implementing that rule. People hear and they are then responsible. Simply to tell the truth reveals lies. It isn't clever or complicated. See I'll prove it; I'll declare a fundamental truth with no clever explanation and you'll see the implications of "bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God."

Jesus Christ the Son of God is the creator of everything that is and all that is has been made by him. Or as John put it in the Gospel according to John,

" All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3 ESV

See the implications of this simple declaration of truth?
Even if you don't understand it all. You can understand it is the equivalent of God saying, "It's Mine!" 

You may not fully grasp all this means, I'm sure I don't but it does call us to a halt. It begs is to reconsider everything.
So what might this simple declaration of truth and good news mean?

Indeed everything is God's. He made it. He owns it. He determines it purpose and usage and future. It is not random. It is not up for grabs. You can't take it all for yourself. You have no right to hoard it. You have no right to deny any thing of anyone. It's not yours. You didn't make it. In fact God made you. Therefore you are not your own and do you have the right to possess anything unless of course God choose to share what is his.

Listen to everyone.  "I saw it first. I worked for it. I was given it by my father. I want it. You don't deserve it. Give it to me."

To all that Jesus declares, "It's Mine!"

Now you have to negotiate with God. Claim it as your own and you are a thief and a liar.

But this passage goes on to then further undermine ideas of class, propriety, and common sense.

Who are Jesus partners in the confirmation of God's Kingdom intentions? Well, it was the twelve and a group of dodgy women with questionable backgrounds.

I can't tell you how excited I am by this royal kingdom of God decree as it were.

Every government sets out how it will rule in its manifesto and then confirms those intentions by appointing a cabinet or some other distribution of power and authority. These are the people the ruler is sharing his power with. These are the ones who are going to help him get it done.

So who is Jesus associating with? Who are the appointees in the Kingdom of God?

Uneducated, unknown, people of no account are Jesus' choice. He picked men and women both. He wasn't afraid of people with potted pasts or people ill equipped and unqualified.

And how was this enterprise going to get off the ground? Well it appears as though the creator of the universe and owner of heaven and earth was going to get things going by relying on the financial support of a few women who were until recently a bit loopy and slightly dangerous. Possibly worse yet one of them is funneling wealth from the treasuries of a rival ruling house.

Jesus wasn't worried about how people would spin things. He didn't need a PR person. Jesus confirms God's Kingdom by telling the truth and inviting anyone to be part of the gang who follows God's rule.

**************************************************************************

Thoughts from a very encouraging friend, Kevin Bonardt

Hi Wm

 

These women had had their lives touched by Jesus. He had healed them and they were changed. And you can tell they were grateful.

 

It was unusual to have women follow Rabbis, but these women are not just following in terms of walking after Jesus, but are expressing their thankfulness in using their finances to support Jesus and his disciples. They are doing it without coercion. They are doing it as a sign of love and support and thankfulness. Their financial gifts are a sign of their worship, of their new-found relationship with Jesus, with the God who made them and has healed them. Their encounters with Jesus, and their listening to his word, have brought about a reaction that costs them, but it is a cost they gladly offer. And such is their example that Luke purposefully mentions them at the beginning of ch8.

 

And then, at the end of the section, we read...

 

 "Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”"
(Luke 8:19-21 ESV)

 

Jesus' family are those who hear the word of God and do it. And who are the examples of this? The women mentioned at the beginning of the chapter I think (in sharp contrast to the Pharisees, teachers of the Law, or Israel)

 

Kevin

(Kevin,)

I may not have expressed it well , but this is what makes me so happy about this passage! I agree entirely with what you have said about the passage and would like to include it as a addendum my blog today if that is ok with you, giving you credit of course.

Wm